True Left

On February 25, the occupying Russian army released images of a convoy of armored vehicles crossing the bridge in the city of Ipren, Kyiv region, moving towards the capital city of Kyiv.

The images were released by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The destroyed convoy belonged to the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and was completely destroyed by fire and artillery fire by the Ukrainian army.

This is a perfect example of Ukraine's use of pre-defined "Engagement Areas", which is a battle tactic the US has perfected.  During the 8 years since Putin invaded Crimea, the US and NATO countries have trained the very willing, motivated and capable Ukrainian military in tactics/strategy intended specifically to thwart an invading force.  Engagement Areas are pre-defined spaces (primarily roadways) that Russian hardware was allowed to freely access because it had been previously "dialed in" and the defenders simply needed to pull the trigger once the targets were lined-up.

Looking at the over-extended RuZZian military convoy I remember thinking 'Either they have a master strategy or they're really dumb.' It is blatantly obvious now I gave them way too much credit.

Russia: Huge explosion as Moscow shopping centre goes up in flames

(Contrast with Hitler having zero qualms about destroying Western architecture:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_Warsaw

   

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German forces dedicated an unprecedented effort to razing the city, destroying 80–90% of Warsaw's buildings, including the vast majority of museums, art galleries, theaters, churches, parks, and historical buildings such as castles and palaces. They deliberately demolished, burned, or stole an immense part of Warsaw's cultural heritage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Castle,_Warsaw#During_World_War_II

   

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On 4 October 1939 in Berlin, Adolf Hitler issued the order to blow up the Royal Castle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxon_Palace

   

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the Saxon Palace was blown up by the Germans as part of their planned destruction of Warsaw.[2][3]

etc. etc. (Hail Hitler!))

Former Trump Administration National Security Council Russia expert, Fiona Hill, says Vladimir Putin is as determined as ever to conquer Ukraine on his own terms and that he may see reports of Russia’s battlefield losses only as Western propaganda and disinformation.
Hill told DW’s Sarah Kelly that Putin had not changed his goals of defeating Ukraine and that another ground offensive, including against the capital Kyiv is possible—even if Russian casualties continue to mount.
The former top White House expert on Russia said that Putin has still “got his sights on the capitulation of Ukraine, one way or another ... if he thinks having another go at Kyiv would be successful, then he will certainly try that.”
Hill, who testified during Donald Trump’s first impeachment on withheld US military aid to Ukraine and Trump’s phone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke to DW’s Sarah Kelly from Washington for Conflict Zone.

Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:54 Fiona Hill Welcome
01:35 First attempt on Kyiv & threat  to Zelenskyy
01:55 Putin has his sights on capitulation of Ukraine
02:14 Belarus visit with Lukashenko
02:53 Is Putin losing the war?
04:00 Putin willing to sacrifice 300,000 Russian troops
04:40 Can Russia accept loss of Crimea?
05:00 Are Ukrainian “de-occupation” goals realistic?
05:45 Russia’s claims on Ukrainian territory
06:35 US & UK responsibility to Ukraine after nuclear disarmament
07:05 Will Russian people accept a claim of victory?
08:30 Kazakhstan, Armenia, Moldova reassessing Moscow
09:30 Putin’s grip on power and infallibility
10:50 Support from China, India, South Africa
11:40 Don’t count Putin out, but ….
12:05 End of Cold War & Putin’s shifting aim
12:25 2007 Munich Security Conference
12:45 2008 Bucharest NATO summit
13:10 Ukraine doesn’t exist in Putin’s version of history
14:20 Frank-Walter Steinmeier & German trade with Russia
15:10 2014 Annexation of Crimea, World War Two & United Nations General Assembly
16:05 Vladimir Putin has declared war on the West
17:20 EU, NATO, US, Japan, South Korea & annexations
17:40 Poland, Baltic states, Scandinavia, UK understanding of Russia
18:00 US support for Ukraine as 2024 election looms
19:40 Donald Trump’s first impeachment
20:15 January 6th Committee, Trump, & Hunter Biden
21:19 Russian propaganda is gaining traction
21:45 Czar Vladimir and Russia’s Manifest Destiny
22:03 Crimea’s first annexation in 1783
23:20 Don’t give Putin what he wants
23:40 Collapse of Soviet Union
24:05 Putin has turned back clock to the Stalinist 1950s
25:25 Inflection point in European & world history

"The Russians have a strain of brutality which comes from centuries of brutality and Mongol invasions."

The Russian army is defined by its 'mercilessness', explains General Sir Richard Sheriff.

It is 300 days since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. What is the current situation and what hopes does the coming year hold?

According to the New York Times, the US is drawing from its War Reserve Stocks for Allies-Israel, which includes ammunition stored in Israel, to supply Ukraine with 90,000 artillery shells per month. This stockpile is typically used by the Pentagon in Middle East conflicts and has been made available to Israel in the past during conflicts with Hezbollah and Hamas. Roughly half of the intended 300,000 rounds have already been shipped to Europe, with the final destination being Poland, as confirmed by Israeli and American officials
#RussiaUkraineWar #Artillerymunition #MunitionShortage #WorldNews
0:00 - INTRODUCTION
1:14 - WHAT PUSHED THE US TO TAP INTO THE ISRAELI STOCKPILE?
2:30 - SOUTH KOREA MORE WILLING THAN ISRAEL TO ARM KYIV?
3:14 - ISRAEL’S DILEMMA ON ARMING UKRAINE

During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Scholz pledged his country's ongoing military support for Ukraine and said that "Russia must fail" in order for the conflict in eastern Europe to end. 
He did not touch on the Leopard 2 tanks which some NATO allies, most notably Poland but also the UK and Lithuania and others, have been encouraging Germany to approve for export to the front lines.
Germany must approve the resale or donation of its military equipment to a third country.
Berlin is under international pressure to allow the transfer of German-made Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.
There were some hopes for a big announcement but Scholz remained silent on the issue.
He mentioned the existing armored vehicles like Marders (weasels in English, Germany names most of its military land vehicles after animals) Germany had dispatched.
A meeting of NATO defense ministers is scheduled at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday where the Leopard tank is likely at the very least to be discussed behind closed doors.
Scholz said Germany had also made "over €12 billion" (around $13 billion at today's exchange rate) available to Ukraine and would continue to support the country "as long as is necessary."
He called for the private sector to play a "key role" in nascent plans for the so-called "Marshall Plan for Ukraine" jointly recommended by Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last October.

CNN military analyst Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (ret.) explains the complications of Ukraine's request for hundreds of pieces of heavy weaponry. #CNN #News

The Kremlin is facing a fiscal crisis as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine drags on. Former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul tells Joy Reid, “We need a big bang approach here on sanctions, on weapons, and on designating them a state sponsor of terrorism.”

Ukraine needs a "significant increase" in weapons at a pivotal moment in Russia's invasion and such support is the only way to a negotiated peaceful solution, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

Defence leaders from around 50 countries and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold talks at Germany's Ramstein Air Base on Friday, the latest in a series of meetings since Russian forces swept into Ukraine nearly 11 months ago.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow’s action in Ukraine was intended to stop a “war” that has raged in eastern Ukraine for many years. Speaking at a meeting with veterans, Putin said Moscow had long sought to negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas, an eastern industrial region where Russia-backed separatists have battled Ukrainian forces since 2014.
“Large-scale combat operations involving heavy weapons, artillery, tanks and aircraft haven’t stopped in Donbas since 2014,” Putin said. “All that we are doing today as part of the special military operation is an attempt to stop this war. This is the meaning of our operation — protecting people who live on those territories.”
Putin insisted again that Russia tried to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the separatist conflict before sending in troops, and said “we were just duped and cheated.”
#putin #russiaukrainewar #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #vladimirputin #worldnews #putin_zelensky

Few Moscow foreign policy & defense experts are more well-connected than Dimitri Trenin who left the Russian army as a military intelligence colonel and went on to head the Carnegie Moscow Center until it was dissolved in 2022.
Trenin, who spoke to Tim Sebastian from the Russian capital, says the Kremlin sees the war in Ukraine as an "existential" fight and that Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats need to be taken seriously.  Much of the Russian elites sees the conflict as a proxy war with the United States and its NATO allies. Trenin says many issues could have been resolved before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, but tragically were not.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has decided to deploy RS-24 Yars mobile surface-to-surface missile systems on combat patrol missions. The ministry added that its military personnel are making precise manoeuvres along combat patrol routes. The system has been placed on combat patrol missions in the Tver Region, close to the Belarus border and within range of Ukraine. Watch this video to know more about the deployment which comes amid mounting concerns that Russia may soon launch a major offensive in Ukraine.
#russiaukrainewar #Russianweapons #Yars #worldnews

0:00 - INTRODUCTION
1:14 - WHAT IS THE RS-24 YARS ICBM?
3:02 - WHAT ARE THE TASKS ASSIGNED TO THE YARS CREWS?
3:44 - TIMING OF THE EXERCISE